Former British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell, who nearly died following a fight in March, has been hospitalised after being taken ill following a sparring session, British media reported on Sunday.

Blackwell, 26, retired from competitive boxing earlier this year after he suffered a bleed on the brain and had to be put into an induced coma following a defeat by compatriot Chris Eubank Jnr.

Having since recovered, he retains a trainer’s licence and the Daily Telegraph said he had undergone a surgical procedure following a sparring session this week.
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“What we understand is that Nick Blackwell sparred, he was taken ill and taken to hospital where he is in a stable condition,” British Boxing Board of Control secretary Robert Smith told the Telegraph.

“He should not have been boxing. I’m sickened by it. It’s a very tough sport and the doctors here did a wonderful job to save his life.

“He made remarkable recovery and for somebody to go and do what he’s done, for what I thought was a very sensible young man, is just beyond belief.”

Announcing his retirement in April, Blackwell had said: “I can’t put my friends and family and self through that again, but I’ll still be involved (in the sport).”